It has been advantageous for motorists to have some type of light source to warn other drivers of a vehicle breakdown. The need for a light assembly is greatly increased when vehicle breakdowns occur at night and/or during serious weather conditions such as fog, rain and snow storms. Automobiles are generally equipped with an internal flashing assembly that is part of the braking lights and turn signal lights. However, such lights are mostly located near ground level in the bumper portions of the vehicles which at such low heights can be poorly visible by other drivers. Furthermore, the visibility of these braking and turn-signal lights is even less effective when the disabled vehicle is perpendicular to a roadway, or on the other side of a hill or around a sharp curve.
Other warning devices have problems as well. Lighting torches can be dangerous and such devices are not reusable. A prior art reflector assembly has been made with collapsible arms. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,606 to McDowell. However, that reflector assembly does not use an artificial source of light but instead relies on light reflective materials. Furthermore the assembly in patent '606 is supported by only two foot portions which each have narrow lengths and narrow widths. Using only two foot supports tends to make the device unstable especially during wind and storm conditions. Still further, the assembly in patent '606 while collapsible is bulky to carry and difficult to store due to the bolt ends and wing nuts which protrude out from the collapsed assembly.
Thus, the need exists for a warning signal reflector assembly that avoids the problems of the prior art.